PhillyDanse

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BALLET, BalletOrchestra, ClassicalDance, dancers, musicians, PhiladelphiaBallet, Tchaikovsky

Corps de Ballet | photo: Alexander Iziliaev

Send in the Swans

Philadelphia Ballet

Swan Lake

Academy of Music

March 3-13

www.philadelphiaballet.org

Speaking to a near sold-out audience at the Academy of Music on March 3, Philadelphia Ballet artistic director Angel Corella invoked prayers for Ukraine before presenting his production of Swan Lake. Indeed, it was hard not to think of the dire situation in Ukraine as the curtain went up on the most famous Russian ballet in the world.

It was initially a flop with Russian audiences at its premiere 125 years ago, composer  Peter Illich Tchaikovsky died before he knew of its enduring success that still attracts audiences the world over. It carries the artistic lineage of Imperial  ballet classicism created by Imperial Ballet innovator Alexander Pushkin and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov.

The folkloric story ballet of Prince Siegfried falling in love with the Princess Odette who is turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer.

At Philadelphia Ballet,  he continues to dust off the classical repertory, and adapts for contemporary audiences, from the many productions of Swan Lake he performed at the height of his career as principal danseur at American Ballet Theatre.

The lavish production look terrific in Philly’s historic Academy of Music. Vivid period costumes by Benjamin Tyrell, from the Swan’s jeweled embroidery to the Prince’s doublets and steely crossbow.

In this revival, Corella has condensed the four acts into two, and from the start he animates the background action in the court scenes celebrating the Prince’s 21 birthday. The corps de ballet men and women really on the mark in the ensemble sharpness and esprit.

 The ballet opens with Prince’s 21^st birthday party, the Queen presents her son with a new crossbow and after some lively dancing and drinking by the guests, the Prince staggers off with his pals for a late-night hunting party. that unfolds with strong ensemble esprit and precision.

Arian Molina Soca is a most lyrical Prince Siegfried, in a starry eyed, well-acted performance. Meanwhile, Soca soars through the air with ease, his turns are centered with exquisite line and finish.  At the lake, Siegfried encounters The Swan.

Daysei Torriente & Arian Molina Soca | photo: Alexander Iziliaev

Principal dancer Dayesi Torriente shows her full range, dancing Odette/Odile. if a bit tentative in her opening scene, but then unlocks the haunted  character of the cursed woman, who can only  transform back to human form at night  as she reveals her true self to Siegfried and , he falls in love with. It’s a tricky role of swan poses and princess radiance.

Torriente’s swan  is a little too skittish as first. but her classical technique regal. In the ball scene As Odile, who Siegfried believes is Odette, Torriente commands every moment, nailing all of the demanding, high voltage pas de bourrée, impeccable jumps and pumping  out 34= fouettes, with a few doubles in the scene finale, before she reveals that she has fooled Siegfried as Odette is still trapped under the spell of Von Rothbart.

 As Benno, Siegfried’s bestie, Ashton Roxander, steals the scene with warm characterization and swagger in the extended solos. He hooks up with equally dynamic partners Thays Golz and So Jung Shin in duets and spritely trios.

 Later, The audience burst into applause at the four Cygnets- those arm-entwined quicksilver ballerinas with their witty arm-entwined pas de quatre, in this performance flawlessly danced by Alexandra Heier,  Thays Golz, Kathryn Manger, and Lucia Erickson.

Principal dancer Sterling Baca is the villainous Von Rothbart, swirling around in a black feather wingspan and horned headdress. Baca was met with lusty hisses his curtain call. He will get his turn as the Prince later in the run.

The ACT II ball scene is packed with character and folkloric dances, The Spanish couples dance with Thays Golz and  Alexandra Heier partnering Etienne Diaz and Russel Drucker; The Russian Czardas troupe led by Kathryn Manger and Aleksey Babayev lead the folkloric Czardas procession and Peter Weil and Nicholas Patterson dazzle as  the tambourine wielding Neapolitans with their a balletic flashdance.

The lakeside denouement pointed up the clarity of the corps de ballet Swans with sumptuous ensemble line and supple pointe work scored to some of Tchaikovsky’s most famous symphonic music.

Philadelphia Ballet’s conductor Beatrice Jona Affron pacing and detailing of the full score even though the overture got off to a shaky start in this performance. Among the many high points, were the virtuosic solo passages by  principal violinist Luigi Mazzocchi and principal harpist Mindy Cutcher.

 Corella typically rotates dancers in the lead and soloist roles throughout the performance run and is luminous Ukrainian principal dancer Oksana Maslova will perform Odette/Odile during the performance run.

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BalletMetros

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BALLET, BalletMetros, BalletOrchestra, dancers, George Balanchine, Tchaikovsky

PABallet continues to polish its Nutcracker

On New Year’s Eve, Pennsylvania Ballet finishes up their marathon three-week 50^th Anniversary run of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. The ballet a technical barometer of Balanchine’s vintage neoclassical style and it is a showcase for the whole company, that highlights Angel Corella’s core goals as artistic director to nurture an elite roster of dancers from the principals to the company apprentices.

Balanchine’s minted 1954 production of Nutcracker if not done at the highest performance level, can, by now look dated and shopworn, but happy to report that a mid-run performance December 21 proved PAB’s current Nutcracker is as lustrous as ever.

The biggest challenge is the first act, depicting a 19th-century Euro-centric Christmas celebration that is largely pantomime acting, which can devolve to ballet pagaentry and can lumber along.  Corella makes sure that does not happen, with precision pacing and having the scenes burst with ensemble esprit and characterizations. No one is in the background, everyone onstage is animated with naturalized intent, especially the children from the PAB school.

Principal Ian Hussey, (who danced the Cavalier at the matinee performance Dec. 21) delivered a magical performance that evening as Herr Drosselmeir, full of character intrigue. He brings with him the Harlequins and making the most of their brief scene, Nayara Lopez and Kathryn Manger captivated with their steely pointe work.  Then, the highlight of the party scene, dance wise, the thrilling Tin Soldier solo by Peter Weill, flawlessly executed in soldierly sync with Tchaikovsky’s galloping scherzo.  In the Act II diversessments, Manger is captivating also leading the Marzipan Shepherdess quintet.

It is so easy for the mousey fight scene to lumber along, Balanchine was not too inventive with fantasy fight scenes, there is a lot of scrambling around, but the pacing and the campy attack by the corps in those bulbous costumes make this scene fast and fun. For the children in the audience, a feast for the eyes, with the engorged Christmas tree and spectacular light show, the life-size Nutcracker soldier and the junior military band and troops bringing storybook visuals.   

As Marie and her brother Fritz, Audrey Tavor and Ellie Sidlow, are complete scene stealers. Rowan Duffy reprises his always valiant performance as The Newphew/Nutcracker who battles the Mouse King and escorts Marie into the land of the Sweets.

Many years of Balanchine’s Nutcracker opening nights in the Snowflakes scene ending act one, the corps de ballet can struggle with Balanchine’s requisite ensemble precision that ignites the ballet. Not an issue in this mid-run performance they proved of crystalline ensemble precision and esprit de corps. Serenaded from the first balcony by the Philadelphia Girls Choir, this was a perfect scene to experience on this Solstice eve performance.

All of the divertissement in Act II, vintage Balanchine distillations from his training years at the Imperial Russian court. Among the outstanding soloists in this performance- Etienne Diaz nailed the candy cane hoop dance, punctuating it with his silky aerials and glint in his eyes and the backup troupe equally buoyant.

There have been, thankfully, adjustments made to some the ethnic stereotypes in productions of the Nutcracker including Balanchine’s version. ‘Tea’ for instance, with its cartoonish stereotyping which by now represents nothing more than an offensive racial stereotype, thankfully have been erased. 

Marjorie Fierling as Coffee in what used to be called The Arabian Dance, in her silky, harem costume.  It’s Balanchine exotica and Fierling is anything but submissive to it, owning it with sultry mystique and smoldering gaze.

Alexandra Hughes as lead Dewdrop Flower for Tchaikovsky’s Waltz, Hughes captivated with air slicing jetes and shimmering pointe work. The corps Flowers, led by Nayara Lopes and Jacqueline Callahan, all sustaining flawless ensemble balletic line.

In the finale, Sterling Baca and Dayesi Torriente have shimmering chemistry as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.

Torriente seemed a bit tentative in her first appearance with the little Angels, but from the moment she took the stage with Baca in the grand pas de deux, Toriente she danced with breathtaking artistry and lyrical expression.

Baca a most attendant Cavalier and the sparks flew when this couple hit those romantic penche arabesques and crucial lifts. Palpable chemistry and drew lusty applause by the time they landed that famous Poisson signature dive.

Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra conductor Beatrice Jona Affron continues to ignite this score with clarity and dimension in countless performances of the Nutcracker in the Academy of Music over her 25 years as Pennsylvania Ballet’s Maestro.